The beginning
by Sister of Avalon
Summary: "Welcome to Asgard, Lady Eira." When Eira is sent to Asgard, she has a hard time getting used to the different environment. Thankfully, she has both new and old friends to help her. However, she soon develops feelings for Loki, who is fighting the darkness growing inside of him. And not to mention his very secret, dark desires for Eira... LokiXOC. Reviews are greatly appreciated XD
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Thor or The Avengers.**

**P.S. This chapter starts a month before Thor.**

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"Tell me again why this meeting is so important."

Odin rolled his eyes and said, "The Lady Lífdís and her warriors are powerful and talented, Thor. They play an important role in defending Asgard's borders. It is therefore both of your duties as future kings of Asgard to welcome them and make them feel at home."

"Why do some of them have to stay here, then?" Thor complained.

"They have outside information that we may not have. They are also well-trained at different forms of sword fighting, and not to mention magic, making them useful additions to our forces."

Loki nodded his head. "As you say so, father."

He gave a warning glance at Thor, who shrugged. "Where do they live at normally, anyway?"

"Asgard," Loki answered automatically.

"Near the _borders_ of Asgard, child," Odin corrected. "Now come on, its time we welcomed the new arrivals. Or residents, seeing as some of them will be staying here."

Odin swept away, leaving the two men to themselves. "Hmm... who are the new victims- I mean residents, Loki?" Thor mused, a mischievous glint in his eye. "A couple of warriors. I don't know who they are, but I heard rumours that one of them is the lady's brightest student. Eira, I think she's called. Everyone says she's the best in enchantments," Loki said, grinning.

"Perhaps we should see exactly how bright she is, don't you think, Loki?"

"Absolutely."

The two brothers stared at each other for a moment before the both of them became invisible. Then, they bounded out the room, their next plan ready for action.

* * *

"Welcome to Asgard, Lady Lífdís. It's been so long since I last saw you," Odin greeted, bringing her hand to his lips.

"It's nice to see you too, Odin. It seems that you've not changed one bit. And Frigga! Still looking as radiant as always, aren't you?" Lífdís exclaimed, giving her old friend a hug. "Oh and I must introduce to you, this is Eira, my best student. She's going to be staying in Asgard like some of the others."

"Good evening, King Odin and Queen Frigga," Eira said, curtseying.

She looked behind the both of them and frowned. "Isn't there supposed to be two princes in Asgard?"

"Yes. Thor and Loki are my sons. They're not here presently, but I suppose you'll meet them soon enough. They have this habit of pranking newcomers." Odin whispered the last part nervously.

Eira nodded but she did not respond. Instead, she cocked her head to one side, as if listening intently.

"What is it, dear?" Lífdís asked worriedly.

Without warning, Eira swung around and kneed the air behind her forcefully. Immediately, a person materialised, lying on the floor and groaning. It was Thor!

"OUCH! What was that for?"

Eira had a look of feigned surprise. "I'm so sorry, Lord Thor! I just thought I heard someone sneak up on me. I thought he or she might be a threat. I had completely no idea it was you! Please forgive me!"

Thor gave a grunt before hauling himself onto his feet. "Apology accepted. How did you know that I was Thor and not Loki? I do not have my hammer with me."

"I see a large holder at your side. Such a huge holder could only be used to hold large weapons like an axe or a hammer. So I just took a luck guess."

As she spoke, she stretched her right leg behind her and made a sweeping motion with it. Before they knew it, Loki appeared on the ground.

"Well, it seems that both of my sons are here," Odin said, making no effort to cover the amusement on his face. "So let us go to the dining hall and have our dinner, shall we?"

* * *

Eira's POV (1st person)

"Hey," Loki said, sliding onto the seat beside me.

"Hi," I replied, staring up at the dining hall's intricate ceiling.

"What's wrong?"

"Its nothing... I'm just a little homesick, that's all."

What I said was true. My Lady was already back in her castle outside of Asgard. "Perhaps I could help you..." Loki trailed off.

I chuckled, "You would be willing to help me? We barely even know each other. Besides, you and Thor were the ones who tried to pull the prank on me but failed, remember?"

"How did you know that?"

"Your father warned me beforehand of the... mischievous nature of the two of you. I was also able to sense your presence when you were near me."

He looked at me in awe. "I've never been detected by anyone, not even father before."

"I'm Lady Lífdís' _best _student, remember? So it would not actually be a surprise if my magic is on par with yours, Loki," I told him.

"You're right... it seems I will have to work harder to become the best then. So, Eira, do you want me to show you around? It would help you get used to Asgard better," he offered.

I grinned. "Sure thing, Loki."

As he led me away, I caught a glimpse of Thor, laughing and drinking with the others. _He's lucky to have such a caring brother, _I thought wistfully.

* * *

**Alright, then! How was the chapter? By my standards(which is quite low), this was quite a long one. I liked writing about the _slight _fluff between Loki and Eira. **

**So, does anyone know why Eira was envious of Thor? Leave a review to tell me your answer. The first person to get the answer right will be able to choose the name of Eira's best warrior friend: male - someone to get Loki jealous, you see. *laughs evilly* OK... I think I'm REALLY hyper now... so bye! ^_^**

**~~ Sister of Avalon XD**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys,**

**I just read some of my story reviews. Thank you to all the people who reviewed, especially to Cecld and Bercelak. I really appreciated the compliments. But before I continue with my chapter, I would like to explain things a little more clearly(you can skip it because I have a feeling that it will be quite long)to Cecld:**

**Both Loki and Eira are on par in magic skills i.e. knowledge of spells and etc. But rest assured that Loki still has more power and the upper hand overall, due to him being a God and all. Also, Eira will be better at certain spells( but not a lot of them) than Loki, eg. Elemental spells while Loki will be better than Eira at other spells. This is so that they can like look out for and support each other.**

**Because everyone, including gods, have their own weaknesses, they are prone to error, as seen in chapter one, where Eira manages to see through Loki's invisibility. This will only happen rarely though, and only if Eira concentrates very, very hard.**

**Honestly, I love Loki as much as I love books, which is saying a lot. However, I don't exactly like Eira being like, completely helpless. Its weird, especially since she's Asgardian. And I sorta like that 'Loki finally meets his match at _something_' kind of feeling. So I hope you'll excuse me.**

**I hope my answer is to your satisfaction, Cecld.**

**P.S. this chapter may be slightly _weird_ cause I just recovered from a cold and I can't think straight.**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Thor.**

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The next few days were a blur. Eira found herself already getting used to the new environment in Asgard, and not to mention her new timetable. Over here, things seem more relaxed, more... luxurious. This was in comparison to the harsher, stricter environment back in the castle she called home along with the other warriors.

She had already made new friends, like the Warriors Three, Loki, Thor and Sif. Having Sif as a friend was a great comfort, since all of the warriors who came with her were male, and Sif was practically the only female she could confide in, other than Frigga.

However, in spite of the new friends she had, she still missed her old friends. She missed the fun they had had together in the past.

_I wonder how they're coping without me_, she thought, walking towards the fighting arena.

She had promised Thor that she would meet them in the arena for fighting practice at one in the afternoon. And based on the clock, it was one-twenty. Which meant that...

Cursing, she ran as fast as she could to the arena. When she reached there, she gasped. Despite having seen the place countless times, it still took her breath away.

The arena was about the size of a football field. Around it were the spectator stands, which could hold thousands of people. It was decorated with bright shades of blue, green, and so many other colours that Eira could not name them all.

In the centre of the arena, Fandral was fighting against a blur of green and gold - Loki.

Eira was cut from her thoughts by a firm hand on her shoulder, which turned out to be Thor.

"What took you so long? All of us were getting worried," Thor said, concern evident in his voice.

"Sorry," Eira replied sheepishly, "I lost track of time."

Thor grinned and slapped her on her back. "Never mind, it doesn't matter. You're here now, aren't you? Let's join the others."

He led Eira up into the stands, where Sif and the others were waiting. Then they sat down to watch the duel.

Fandral slashed and stabbed repeatedly at Loki, occasionally feinting a move or two. However, Loki seemed to ignore the feints, and instead wove in and out of Fandral's reach, making it seem impossible for him to land a hit. It seemed that Loki had the upper hand, even though he was using knives, which had lesser reach as opposed to Fandral's sword. Eira suspected that Loki's plan was to tire Fandral out before knocking him out once and for all.

This continued for a few minutes before finally, Loki dealt a blow to Fandral's jaw with the hilt of his knife and he, being too tired to deflect it, went stumbling into the sand.

"Well done, brother!" Thor congratulated, giving Loki a hug once he came up to the stands. He flushed. "It was nothing, really."

"Nothing? That was really some serious endurance, Loki," Fandral grunted from behind him, having just managed to hoist himself up onto the stands.

Sif shook her head. "Anyway, who's next?" Immediately, Volstagg and Hogun raised their hands. They went down into the field and began fighting each other. The next pairing was Sif and Thor, and then Volstagg and Thor.

While the two were fighting, Loki came up to Eira. "Hey Eira.'

"Hey. The way you fought Fandral just now? It was awesome. Where on Earth do you get so much stamina from? I mean, the match was like, _half an hour_ long."

Loki grinned and shrugged. "It's a secret."

Just then, Thor shouted, "Hey Eira! It's your turn now!" She looked down incredulously. To her surprise, Volstagg was already knocked out by Thor. "Ah well, I guess you'd better go down, else we can look forward to a thunderstorm," Loki told her amused.

Eira rolled her eyes and went down the stands. "You'll be fighting Fandral," Thor instructed. "Are your Armour in place?" She nodded.

"All right then, you may start when you are ready."

The duo circled each other like hungry vultures, each waiting for the right opportunity to strike. Eira pretended to show weakness in her right hand, hoping Fandral would take advantage of the opportunity to make the first move.

He took the bait.

He attacked, slashing down at her. Eira parried quickly and returned the attack. Fandral responded by slamming the hilt of his blade at her shoulder. Eira was sent flying into the sand.

"Ready to admit defeat, Eira?" Fandral asked her.

"Not really," she said, reaching into her pockets and unsheathing a pair of hunting knives when Fandral was not looking; he was too busy trying to pin her down.

As fast as lightning, she slammed her knives onto his arms and slipped out of his grasp. "That's cheating!" He gasped. "No one said that we couldn't use extra weapons," she retorted.

Eira slashed, dodged and ducked, letting her instincts take over. At the right opportunity, she locked one of her knives with Fandral's sword, and pushed downwards. The sword skittered out of his hand. "You don't have any more weapons, do you?" She asked.

He made no response. Instead, he took out a short rod, which immediately expanded into a long spear. He charged. Eira sidestepped and cut his spear into two. She slammed the butts of her knife into him, and he crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Eira looked up nervously. "Is he okay?" Loki came up and examined him. "Yeah, he's fine, I expect he'll wake up soon. The impact of the crash could kill him though, if it was any more harder."

"Sorry." Eira said, biting her lip.

"I guess this concludes our practice session then."

* * *

The dining hall was a mess; servants hurried to and fro, bringing food and drinks for their masters. Men were drinking wine and telling their companions stories of their past adventures and battles - often exaggerated, of course.

"Silence!" Odin said, banging his goblet on the table. Everyone quietened down in a flash.

"Everyone knows I'm becoming too old for the throne already. Henceforth, I would like to abdicate my throne. The crown will go to the eldest of the two princes of Asgard, Thor. The coronation will take place next week. Celebrations will be on the night before the coronation, so make your preparations everyone."

Immediately, the hall was filled with cheers and people shouting, "Thor! Thor!" and "King! King!" Thor was greeted with a lot of back slapping and congratulations from his comrades.

Somewhere in the back, Loki smiled, a little sadly, and slipped out of the hall.

* * *

**Okay then, I'm finished. **

**I'm sorry it took so long to update, but I had had a cold for the past few days. My mum barred me from using the computer.**

**As you can see, I wrote a small part about Odin announcing his abdication, so the Pre-Thor chapters are about to come to an end already. I'm really excited about writing the Thor chapters because the story's going to get darker there. Not to mention the fact that there will be much more tension. And also tension of... a slightly different kind. *****hint, hint* The next chapter will be still Pre-Thor though. ^_^**

**To Bercelak: I will definitely use your character, and I will introduce him in the next few chapters, preferably in chapter 4 or 5, assuming I go accordingly to my plan. Which I most probably will. All I need is a character profile. Could you PM me his profile? I only need his basic details, like family history, weapons used, etc.**

**Please review, okay? They mean so much to me. Flame if you want, but constructive criticism is always welcomed. Oh yeah, favourite and follow too.**

**See you guys in the next chapter!**

**Signing off,**

**Sister of Avalon (::)(::) ~cookies for everyone! XD**


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